Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
by A Study in Scarlett
Summary: In which Johnny Storm and Toni Stark have a "thing" and Steve Rogers isn't sure how he feels about that. (Fem!Tony, eventual Steve x Tony) Co-written with Into-Your-Gravity
1. When Johnny Met Steve

**Author's Note: **

**Thanks to my best friend Into-Your-Gravity for co-writing this fic, which would have gotten nowhere otherwise. We've tried our best to stay true to the characters and the fandom, and we hope you appreciate all our hard work. **

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**Chapter 1: When Johnny met Steve**

The first time the Avengers met the Fantastic 4, Doctor Doom had been attempting to take over the world.

Via Doombots.

Again.

As per usual, the Avengers had been assembled to deal with them.

"Stark, is there anyway to take these things out?" came the Captain's voice over the comms, sounding markedly tired.

The fight had been raging for quite a while. Normally, Toni would have had a solution at the ready, but the endless assault of Doombots (_Where did Dr. Doom get so damn many of them?!_) had kept her sufficiently occupied.

"I'm going to need a moment, Cap, I'm still working on it." she replied tersely, trying to read the data on her (damaged) HUD.

Toni was having the time of her life. She was dodging the onslaught of Doombots on her tail, desperately trying to avoid property damage. Normally, it wouldn't take the Avengers such a long time to dispatch Doom's latest creations, but the Latverian monarch had recently upgraded them. Unfortunately for the Avengers, said upgrades included making the pesky robots impervious to the majority of the Avengers' attacks.

Off to Toni's left, a bolt of lightning, most likely summoned by Thor, streaked across the sky. The lightning was somewhat effective, managing to fry several Doombots, but the majority just kept attacking. Hawkeye was perched atop a building, not far from Thor. There was a look of intense concentration and determination on his face as he sent arrow after arrow into the cluster of Doombots on Toni's tail.

Natasha, as per usual, was handling the fighting on the ground, with Steve. She was shooting everything in sight, which normally would have been an effective strategy. Since the Doombots had been updated, her volleys of bullets weren't even making a dent. Her frustration was visibly increasing, and eventually she just threw her guns off to the side. She opted to take on the Doombots with her bare hands, which proved to be quite effective, given her formidable fighting skills.

Toni's respect for Natasha increased considerably.

Toni twisted, sending a repulsor blast into the considerably lessened thicket of Doombots on her tail. The blast was strong enough to get rid of the few that remained, freeing her up to help one of the others. Both Natasha and Hawkeye seemed to be managing fine on their own, so she flew to join the Hulk, who was looking like Christmas had come early. There really wasn't much Dr. Doom could do to make his pesky robots Hulk-resistant, so the big guy's smashing tactics were as effective as ever.

"Hey Big Green! Having fun?" she called to him, flipping the armor's faceplate up to reveal a grin.

"HULK SMASH!" came his thunderous reply.

Toni gave him another brilliant smile, before flipping her faceplate down again and shooting into a group of Doombots that managed to evade the big guy's wrath. Knowing any further interference on her part would just irritate him, she shot off into the air once more.

The Captain was fighting several Doombots on his own, but seemed to be managing just fine. That is, until a whole new horde of the pesky things started attacking him. Toni landed beside him, taking out as many Doombots as she could with her repulsors, as Steve did the same with his shield. Between the two of them, there wasn't much hope for Doom's (inferior) creations.

After some serious ass-kicking action, the battle ended. The Avengers, as per Fury's orders, were gathered in a conference room on the Helicarrier for their mandatory post-battle debrief.

Fury entered the room with all his usual flair, black letter trench coat flapping and signature glare in place.

"Good work." he grumbled at them.

For the life of her, Toni couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. Personally, she thought so, as _Dr. Doom_ (of all people) shouldn't have taken the Avengers that long to subdue.

"No thanks to the Fantastic Four." Natasha muttered under her breath, but Fury pretended not to have heard her. He did, however, briefly pause to glare.

"I am aware that Dr. Doom is not our responsibility-"

"Damn right!" Toni sighed, exhausted from the long fight.

"Stark," Fury warned, and Toni held her hands up in surrender, motioning for him to continue.

"As I was saying, Dr. Doom and his stupid-ass machines are not our concern. We are transferring all responsibility for Dr. Doom-related situations to the Fantastic Four, who will be arriving shortly." with that, Fury turned sharply on his heel and stalked out of the room, trenchcoat flaring behind him.

"Well, this ought to be fun!" Toni remarked faux-cheerily, attempting to ease the tension in the room. Her statement was met with general confusion, which was understandable. None of the Avengers, save for her, had actually met the Fantastic Four. She didn't have an issue with all of them, just Reed Richards; the man was smart- a genius, really, she wouldn't begrudge him that- but he had the annoying tendency to mess with science he didn't fully understand.

Coulson and Hill entered a few moments later, herding the Fantastic Four into the room. Pleasantries were being exchanged, but Toni wasn't paying attention. She was far too distracted, and for good reason.

Steve Rogers had just met Johnny Storm.

Steve looked thunderstruck, while Johnny was openly gaping. Steve found their resemblance to one another uncanny, and frankly a little terrifying, _and there's no way Johnny's his descendent because Steve never even- OH GOD!_

Johnny's open mouthed stare had long since morphed into an excited grin, the promise of mischief present in his eyes.

The situation was horribly awkward and just when Steve thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, it did. Johnny grabbed Steve's hand and shook it, proclaiming (with a wink and rakish grin, no less), "You, my friend, are one _handsome devil_!"

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**A/N: And that's it for Chapter 1! Read and Review, let us know what you think. The next chapter will be posted soon.**

**Next Chapter:** _Johnny and Toni, flirting, and much more_


	2. When Johnny Met Toni

**Author's Note:**

**Endless thanks to my best friend Into-Your-Gravity for co-writing this fic, which would have gotten nowhere otherwise. We've poured our heart and soul into this work and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.**

****On behalf of myself and Into-Your-Gravity, thank you to everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed this fic. I cannot even describe how shocked, stunned and utterly _grateful_ we were when I opened up my inbox and saw all of the notifications. ****

**We would like to thank Kup of Koko, iamgoku, Ranger Belle, Dazed Ryo, dr, skyler jackson chase and suntan140 for taking the time to review. Your feedback is really appreciated :)**

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**Chapter 2: When Johnny Met Toni**

Toni laughed. She laughed so hard that tears were streaming out of her eyes and her abdominals hurt and the arc reactor was pressing _painfully_ into her lungs, but she couldn't stop laughing.

The look on Steve's face was _priceless_\- a true Kodak moment. She made a note to obtain the security footage from SHIELD's database because _dear God this had to be preserved for posterity._

Bruce and Reed were absolutely stunned, yet utterly fascinated by the resemblance. Sue looked vaguely concerned for Toni's mental health (which was _reasonably fine_, thank you), while Natasha and Clint looked on impassively (it must be all the super-secret spy training). Steve and Johnny were still caught up in their staring contest; Johnny was grinning at Steve's confusion and shock.

Ultimately, it was Thor that managed to settle things down.

"MY FRIENDS," he boomed, but quickly switched to a quieter voice at Natasha's glare, "I believe we have matters of great importance to attend to."

Sometime during the madness, Coulson and Hill had managed to slip out, unnoticed. If Toni didn't know any better, she would have attributed their sneakiness to witchcraft. Not that witchcraft wasn't a possibility, given Loki's magical abilities. Maybe Coulson wasn't a robot after all, maybe he was a wizard. A mental image of Hagrid came unbidden to the front of Toni's mind: "Yer a wizard, Agent."

Toni shook herself, diverting her attention back to the matter at hand. It was just in time, too, as Coulson (who had returned god-knows-when) chose that moment to address her.

"Director Fury has asked you to help Dr. Richards analyze the Doombots." He told her impassively, his tone brokering no disagreement.

Though she took endless pleasure in snarking at him, Toni knew better than to argue back. She settled for a tight nod, somehow managing to keep her contempt for Richards hidden.

The tension in the air was palpable as Reed, looking quite displeased, suggested to Toni, "We can head to the Baxter Building to work. My machines are all set up."

Calling on all her seldom-used social graces, Toni smiled politely. "We can work in your lab if you prefer." She concurred, "Would you like me to bring my equipment?"

It was a cheap shot, Toni knew, to suggest that Reed's equipment wasn't up to scratch. His equipment was fairly advanced, but hers was better. After all, she had designed and built everything herself.

Reed was clearly offended at the suggestion, but he knew better than to start World War III with Toni, having been on the receiving end of her temper before. Toni Stark was frightening when she wanted to be; it was utterly terrifying to have all of her genius intelligence focused solely on you.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." He managed, smiling stiffly at her, "I believe we'll manage."

Coulson looked between the two for a few seconds, as if waiting for any outbursts. When he saw that none were forthcoming, he continued with relief. The last thing he wanted to deal with was _another_ superhero temper tantrum. He was supposed to be at home today, watching Supernanny.

"Then it's settled. Stark, you will accompany Dr. Richards to the Baxter Building." He paused a moment before adding, "However, one other member of the Avengers will accompany you to supervise."

Toni and Reed looked as if they were about to protest, but a shared look between the two had them thinking better of it. Leaving the pair alone with dangerous equipment was only asking for trouble, as both Toni and Reed were well aware.

It was then that Steve stepped forward, eliciting an eyeroll from Natasha. "It would be my honor to look over Stark and Dr. Richards."

The aforementioned Dr. Richards raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Toni. "Is he always like his?" He asked incredulously.

"Pretty much." She muttered with a long-suffering sigh. At least someone understood her pain, even if it was Reed Richards.

"Excellent." Coulson responded enthusiastically, knowing the Captain could be trusted to maintain at least some amount of order, even if it would piss off Stark.

"Well, we're off!" Toni announced. With a pointed look at Thor, she added, "Try not to break anything while we're gone."

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**-Scene break! Baxter building-**

* * *

Toni and Reed had been working for several hours, making significant progress. The data from Toni's suit was uploaded onto the mainframe for Reed to analyze. While he extracted the relevant data, Toni was busy reverse engineering a Doombot. SHIELD had lent them a relatively undamaged Doombot to collect data; Toni had long since pulled it apart and had set JARVIS to running the necessary scans.

Steve looked on with confusion and suspicion. But mostly confusion.

Toni missed the holographic interface typical of her own labs, but Reed's equipment was nothing to sneeze at either. At least she had JARVIS, her ever-snarky AI.

It wasn't long before Johnny interrupted their work, presumably to annoy Steve some more.

"Hello, my good looking friend. Attempting to make sense of this nerd talk?" He smirked.

Steve frowned. He opened his mouth to reply, but Toni chose that moment to cut in.

"To make sense of anything here requires several PhDs in highly specialized fields. Seeing as the good Captain was an artist, and you yourself are an overgrown frat boy, there isn't much to understand." She snapped pointedly.

Johnny threw his hands up in surrender. "I can tell when I'm not wanted."

Toni merely cocked an eyebrow, conveying her skepticism nonverbally.

"Are you sure? Your intelligence level would suggest otherwise."

Johnny merely rolled his eyes with obvious amusement, apparently unfazed by Toni's snark.

"You can't expect me to be put off so easily. You may be a bitch, but at least you're a hot bitch." He added with a wink, looking her up and down pointedly.

Toni gave him her best bitchface (she'd worked on it for years). "What can I say? You're persistent. Is that your way of compensating?"

Johnny smirked at her. "Baby I've got nothing to compensate for." He paused for a moment, adding "Don't take my word for it- you could always find out for yourself."

He chose that moment to sidle up behind her, his arms encircling her waist.

Steve looked positively scandalized.

Toni was unfazed. She leaned back into Johnny's chest, craning her neck to look at him. "Johnny Storm! Are you propositioning me?"

"Yes." He replied with an unapologetic grin, his eyebrows waggling suggestively.

Toni grinned. At least the guy was honest.

"Oh, I _like_ you." She returned with a saucy wink.

"So, is that a yes?" Johnny asked hopefully.

Toni turned in his arms to fully face him, her arms encircling his neck.

"It's a maybe."

At that, Johnny gave a surprised laugh.

"You know I'm not going to stop."

Determination. Toni liked that in a guy.

She smiled seductively, adding "And who said I wanted you to?"

Johnny smiled appreciatively. Toni Stark was a spitfire- pursuing her was perhaps even more dangerous than fighting Doombots.

Steve cleared his throat rather loudly, as if attempting to catch the attention of the two. When they didn't notice, he delved into a fit of coughs, forcing Johnny to finally look up.

"Dude, do you need a cough drop or something?" He asked, looking fairly annoyed with Steve.

"No, thank you." He replied with forced politeness. "So, perhaps Stark should pay attention to her work and assist Dr. Richards with more...pressing matters."

Johnny smirked slightly, pulling Toni further into him (not that she minded, of course). "Does this sort of talk make you uncomfortable, Captain Rogers?"

Steve blushed almost immediately. "I just think we should try to focus on our work. Fury is expecting Stark and Dr. Richards to make significant progress."

Steve was practically a tomato, and Toni wondered briefly if his face could get any redder. She was always up for a challenge though, and one glance at Johnny told her that he was too.

"Right." Toni interjected sarcastically, "I'm sure this doesn't bother you at all." She moved her arms down to the waistband of Johnny's (alarmingly well-fitting) jeans and silently dared Steve to say anything.

Steve glanced at Dr. Richards despairingly, but the man was too absorbed in his work to pay attention to the ridiculous antics of his brother-in-law and Toni.

Steve's patience was wearing thin. He wasn't quite sure what was particularly irritating about the situation. Sure, he was annoyed that Johnny was distracting Stark from her work, but something about their more than friendly interactions (to say the least) was unsettling.

Perhaps sensing Steve's mounting frustration, Johnny (finally) released Toni and turned to leave. Unable to resist one last dramatic (and vaguely romantic) gesture, Johnny grabbed Toni's hand and brought it to his lips.

"Until next time, my fair lady." He intoned solemnly, kissing her palm.

With one last wink, he left. Toni stared after him for a few seconds, smiling incredulously, before shaking herself and returning to her work.

Much to Steve's relief.

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**A/N: And that's it for Chapter 2! Let us know what you think- reviews make us happy :) **

**Updates will be posted every Tuesday :)**

**Chapter 3: **_More flirting, awkward/confused Steve, and much more _


	3. The Wooing of Toni Stark

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to my best friend Into-Your-Gravity for helping me out when I told her "I can't even Steve". Thankfully, she can, and she does it quite well. **

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**Chapter 3: The Wooing of Toni Stark**

"Do we have to be here?" Toni complained, glancing around the room as Johnny nodded in agreement.

The Avengers and the Fantastic Four, as per Fury's orders, were currently holding a press conference regarding Dr. Doom's most recent attacks on the city. Personally, Toni believed that Dr. Doom didn't merit his own press conference; the Latverian monarch's overlarge ego didn't need any more encouragement.

None of the Avengers particularly wanted to be there, but Fury hadn't really given them much of a choice.

"What I'm concerned about is keeping Stark from saying anything inappropriate." Natasha said, ignoring Toni's irritated glare.

"I think I should be seated near her to prevent Stark from misrepresenting the team." Steve suggested, earning himself Toni's patented bitchface.

"Well, my dear Capsicle-" She was about to go off on Steve, but Bruce quickly grabbed her shoulder.

"Toni will be fine." Bruce stressed, eliciting a smile from the woman in question. "But I can sit next to her incase something happens."

"Not that it will." He quickly amended, sensing Toni's displeasure.

"It's a good thing you're smart" Toni grumbled, burying her face into his neck.

"I knew you were with me for just for my brains." Bruce said dryly, patting her back comfortingly.

"And don't you forget that." Toni winked.

The two of them could have carried on like that for a while, but they were distracted by Johnny's antics.

"I thought you loved me!" Johnny interjected, feigning shock and hurt. "Never in my life have I faced such great betrayal!"

"Why? Can't you share?" Toni asked playfully, her attention diverted from Bruce.

Johnny looked surprised for a second. "Well, love, I didn't know you were into that sort of thing." He finally managed.

"I'll try anything once." Toni answered back with a seductive grin.

Steve blushed furiously while Clint observed with great amusement. Thankfully, Thor drew the room's attention back to him.

"I believe we must attend to the matters at hand. Director Fury has kindly requested that we handle the curiosity of the public with grace. I suggest that we make our presence known to the media so they may proceed with their questioning."

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**Scene break! Press conference**

* * *

After an hour of questions regarding the safety of the city, Toni was _so_ done.

"Ms. Stark, how do you personally feel about the transfer of all matters concerning Dr. Doom to the Fantastic Four?" A reporter shouted at her from the audience.

"Well, how I personally feel about the matter is of no consequence." Toni smiled sharply. "However," she continued, "the Avengers are completely willing to hand over all responsibilities of fighting Dr. Doom to the Fantastic Four."

Natasha glanced approvingly at her; Toni's response had been unexpectedly mature. Natasha supposed that it shouldn't have been as surprising as it was, given that Toni had been exposed to the media since the tender age of six.

The press conference had finally come to an end. Toni was up and out of the room as fast as humanly possible, not even sparing a backwards glance. With Bruce in tow, she walked out to meet Happy, who had a limousine waiting to take them home to Stark Tower.

The car ride back was silent. Toni had a splitting headache after an hour of having questions yelled out at her, and Bruce himself wasn't faring much better. Toni was looking forward to relaxing in her penthouse; Bruce lived there with her, but he spent more time in his lab anywhere else, as he found the environment calming.

Toni and Bruce climbed into her private elevator at Stark Tower. Bruce got off a few floors below the penthouse, where all the labs were housed. Toni herself continued up to the penthouse, in desperate need of a drink.

She walked over to the bar and poured herself a glass of scotch, forgoing the ice.

"I'm home!" She called into the empty penthouse.

"Welcome home, Miss" JARVIS responded dutifully. Good ol' JARVIS.

"Did you miss me?" She asked playfully. Of course he did. It would have been boring without her there.

"Every second, Miss." JARVIS bantered back. "It's not the same without your wit and good humor." He added sarcastically.

With her glass in hand, she wandered over to the balcony. It was then that she realized it was covered in roses. Red and yellow roses, arranged to look like the Iron Man faceplate.

"JARVIS!" She called, about to ask who the hell had done that, but was saved from doing so when Johnny, in human-torch mode, flew up to greet her.

He landed (surprisingly) gracefully, and returned to his normal appearance.

Toni wondered how the fuck Johnny was able to pull of something that elaborate. How did he even manage to get all the roses up to her balcony? She briefly suspected JARVIS's involvement with the scheme. Regardless, it was sweet of him. Toni could appreciate grand gestures (being a bit of megalomaniac herself).

Toni smiled as he approached.

"Toni," Johnny began with a smile "flirting with you is fun, but I bet dating you would be more fun."

Toni laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I would." He replied earnestly, and Toni was floored by the honest response.

Flirting with Johnny had been fun, but Toni hadn't honestly expected anything more to come out of it. She couldn't recall ever having a serious relationship, and Johnny Storm didn't seem like the relationship type either. Perhaps that's what made them work so well together.

Johnny continued, not giving her time to reply. "You're a spitfire, Stark. We'd be fabulous together."

Well, there was no denying that. Plus, Johnny had style.

"We'd take the world by Storm." Toni admitted, silently congratulating herself on the pun.

Johnny grinned at her clever wordplay.

"So, is that a yes?" He asked, repeating his question from the other day.

Toni pretended to think about it for a few seconds before answering.

"It's a yes." She confirmed with a smile.

Johnny threw his arms up in the air in silent victory. He walked over to her and drew her up into a kiss. It wasn't until they both had to come up for air that Toni noticed the news helicopters circling the building.

"Let's give them a show." She suggested to Johnny, who looked more than happy to comply.

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**Scene Break! SHIELD Barracks**

* * *

It was early morning and instead of being on his usual run, Steve was staring at the cup of coffee in front of him, absorbing the events of the previous day.

"Hello my SHIELD brother, I hope you are not feeling too upset this morning." Thor boomed, interrupting Steve's train of thought.

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." Steve replied politely, before quickly thinking over Thor's statement. "Wait, why wouldn't I be fine?"

Thor smiled at him sympathetically. "Seeing as our fellow team member, the fair Lady of Iron has been courted the Man of Flames, I assumed you would find yourself in poor spirits."

Steve coughed awkwardly. "I'm quite...happy for Stark. I-She deserves to be happy."

"You are a brave soul to be able to live with this constant torment." Thor replied, obviously not having paid attention to Steve's response.

Steve grabbed his cup and left the kitchen, trying to ignore Thor's pitying glance.

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**A/N: And that's it for Chapter 3! Review, we'd love to hear what you think.**

**Next Chapter:** _Johnny and Toni adorable-ness, Bruce, Thor, and totally not-jealous Steve_


	4. In Which Steve is Totally Not Jealous

**Author's Note:**

**Once again endless thanks to my darling Into-Your-Gravity for basically making this chapter possible and helping me push through some serious writers' block.**

**We both sincerely apologize for the embarrassing amount of time this update has taken. Thank you so much to all the amazing people who kept reading and kept waiting and kept hoping we would come back to it. Your faith in us was really the motivation we needed to get this done.**

**Also, neither of us own The Avengers (though we wish we did).**

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**Chapter 4: In Which Steve is Totally Not Jealous**

It was early in the morning when Steve stumbled into the Tower after his early morning jog around Central Park.

The air outside was cool and crisp, and it helped Steve clear his mind. Though he had been "awake" (a term he preferred over Toni's "defrosted") for a while, he still found the world around him to be a bit much sometimes. Those moments were usually few and far between, but the added media presence around Stark Tower (the fallout from Johnny and Toni hooking up on the balcony) was enough to drive any of the resident heroes crazy.

It was nice to get away from it all for a while, Steve mused, as he leant against the walls of the elevator and took a long pull from his water bottle.

It had been a few days since Johnny and Toni had gotten together, and the happy couple was a regular fixture of Stark Tower.

Steve couldn't pinpoint the feeling in the pit of his stomach that was bothering him. Something about seeing Toni and Johnny together made him feel uneasy. Steve wouldn't call it jealousy, exactly; he was happy that Toni found a somewhat pleasant gentleman.

Johnny was certainly an attractive fellow, (Steve couldn't deny that). He didn't think Johnny was a bad person, just not the most responsible. Toni needed someone a little more...serious.

The elevator came to a stop at the penthouse and Steve walked out and took another sip from his water bottle. Due to his impeccable timing, he managed to walk in on Johnny and Toni, who were… otherwise occupied.

The duo in question were tangled up on the couch, kissing enthusiastically. Steve doubted either of them noticed that he was in the room.

Steve felt his face heat up, quickly turning red, and he choked on his water, coughing rather loudly. He turned around, his back to the busy couple, embarrassed. Their state of undress was something he didn't particularly want to see.

Thor showed up almost immediately, holding his hammer and ready to attack. His expression turned from concern to confusion when he saw Steve.

"My comrade Steve!" exclaimed Thor as he rushed over to thump Steve on the back.

"I was worried something ill had befallen you!" He continued, his confusion at Steve's present state evident.

"No, I just-" Steve sputtered, trailing off as he gestured helplessly to the general area where Toni and Johnny were engaged in their rather passionate activity.

Thor paused for a moment, turning to take in the scene in front of him.

He frowned in further confusion. "I did not know it was acceptable to engage in such amorous affection in public places." Thor announced loudly.

Evidently that caught the duo's attention, as Toni stopped her exploration of Johnny's mouth and finally looked up.

"It's really not" she said to Thor, paying (almost) no attention to Johnny kissing down her neck rather insistently. "We just got-"

"Carried away." Johnny supplied helpfully, pausing his perusal of Toni's neck. "And if you don't mind-"

"We'd like to continue getting carried away." Toni finished for him, smirking at Thor and Steve's (rather nice, she would admit) behind.

* * *

"They're already finishing each other's sentences." Steve muttered to Thor as both of them escaped to the kitchen.

Steve immediately strode to the other end of the kitchen and busied himself with the Coffeemaker, turning his back on Thor's probing (and uncomfortably wise) look.

Thor, for his part, remained silent, waiting until Steve had finished with his perusal of the coffee mugs and turned back around to face him.

He gave Steve a considering glance. "Does that upset you brother Steve?" Thor asked gently, his tone sympathetic.

Steve set his mug down on the table with a sharp thud.

"Why do keep thinking I'm upset by Toni and Johnny?" Steve asked, mildly frustrated.

"I'm happy for her, really. She deserves to be happy." He continued, ignoring both the nagging feeling he got whenever he thought about the couple and Thor's disbelieving expression.

Thor shook his head at Steve's words.

"Denial is the greatest hindrance to true love, my friend." He returned, his tone both sympathetic and chastising.

(Steve felt uncomfortably like a clueless puppy).

A small crease appeared between Steve eyebrows as he contemplated Thor's words, not fully understanding the implications.

"What are you suggesting?" He asked the Thunderer, confusion still splashed across his face.

Thor huffed out a breath. "I'm only stating that which I have observed. Your feelings for lady Stark are quite evident."

Steve shook his head, and an odd feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

"I don't- I haven't thought about Toni in that way." He insisted, but he was unable to meet Thor's eyes.

When he finally found the courage to do so, he found Thor's glance to be simultaneously sympathetic and perceptive.

"Do not lie to yourself, Captain. I trust you are intelligent enough to know when you are deceiving yourself."

Having said that, Thor left the kitchen, leaving Steve to his thoughts.

* * *

Toni stumbled into the kitchen a while after Thor left, giving Steve a sunny smile and a cheery "Good Morning!"

Steve looked up from his coffee and returned the sentiment before hastily looking down again.

"Where's Johnny?" He inquired politely as he brought the steaming mug up to his lips.

Toni glanced over from where she was rummaging around in the cupboard.

"Urgent Superhero business, I think" She replied, her delight at finding what she was looking for evident in her voice.

Toni held the red and gold mug aloft in victory for a moment before turning to the Coffeemaker and pouring herself a cup.

"Richards texted, asking him to come to the Baxter Building." She continued, sparing another glance over at Steve. "It must have been something important, because he left pretty quickly."

Steve nodded, keeping his focus on the coffee cup.

Toni gave him a considering glance as she finally turned back around.

"Is your coffee really more interesting than me, Cap?" She questioned, one eyebrow raised as she took a sip of her coffee (black, always black).

Steve blushed lightly as he looked up at her.

"I- I mean- It's just" He stammered out before Toni cut him off.

"Just what, Mon Capitan?" She demanded teasingly, one corner of her mouth lifted in her signature smirk.

Toni was, simply put, stunning. There was just something about the way that the early morning sunlight caught on her thick black hair and regal features that made Steve wish for a sketchbook to capture the moment.

He found himself speechless, unable to reply.

Thankfully, Clint chose that moment to drop in from the ceiling, sparing Steve from having to answer.

Clint gave Toni a rakish grin, before pointing out what Steve was too polite to mention.

"Your clothes, Stark. Or more accurately, your lack thereof."

Toni blinked at him before finally looking down at herself, apparently not having notices that she wore nothing more than her underwear.

"But by all means continue being semi-naked," Clint smirked at her suggestively. "The view is pretty damn great."

Toni looked up at the Archer with a smirk, ready to return with a sassy comment of her own, but she was distracted by a very shirtless Steve (which she did not mind at all) holding out his shirt to her.

Deciding to spare the poor Captain, Toni took the shirt from him and pulled it on, sticking her tongue out at Clint.

"Thanks, Cap." She smiled at him gratefully.

Toni thought that the gesture was honestly pretty sweet. The good Captain's sense of chivalry (though a bit outdated) was adorable.

On impulse, Toni rose up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to Steve's cheek before heading down to her lab, coffee in hand.

Clint perched himself on top of the fridge, watching Steve's cheeks turn steadily redder as he blushed.

As he felt his face cool down, Steve turned to face the Archer. He immediately wished he hadn't, as the look on Clint's face was eerily reminiscent of the one Thor had given him earlier.

Steve had no doubt that the other man had something similar to say, but he didn't particularly want to have that conversation again.

"Not a word." Steve ground out, cutting Clint off before he could voice his opinion.

Clint raised his hands defensively. "The Nile isn't just a river, Cap."

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**A/N: And that is it for Chapter 4! Review and let us know what you think!**

**We promise to update sooner and not keep you guys waiting for so long, but thank you for sticking with us!**

Chapter 5: _In which sh*t goes down and drama ensues._


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